His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, who is Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps, presented 100 soldiers from 4 Regiment Army Air Corps (AAC) with their medals at Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk on Monday 27 July 2009.
Prince Charles then addressed the soldiers and praised their 'remarkable' efforts before he and the Duchess mingled with soldiers and their families.
Their Royal Highnesses also had a closer look at an Apache helicopter and spoke to crew members before moving to a crew room where they presented service awards to a small group of soldiers.
Prince Charles said:
"It's an enormous privilege to be able to give you your medals on this occasion.
"As far as my wife and I are concerned it is very special to be able to recognise the extraordinary level of commitment you display when you go off in these helicopters.
"Your extraordinary ability to provide these attack helicopters when required by troops on the ground is truly remarkable.
"We also owe a huge amount to all your families, many of whom are gathered here today, for the support and understanding they all show. I know all too well, having had my youngest son serving for a period in Afghanistan, just what it is like being a parent or as one of those left behind - and in my case it was even worse because I couldn't tell anybody."
4 Regiment AAC held the responsibility for flying and maintaining the Apache attack helicopter in Afghanistan for a year from May 2008 to May 2009.
This was the first time the regiment had deployed on operations flying the Apache (although there were individuals within the regiment who had served in Afghanistan before).
This appears longer than the standard six-month tour undertaken by other regiments. However, this is deceptive as rather than individuals carrying out unbroken six-month tours, pilots and ground crew have tours of either three or four months on and off during the course of the year.
This is the last of three squadrons from 4 Regiment AAC to receive their medals.
4 Regiment AAC has been succeeded in Afghanistan by its sister regiment at Wattisham, 3 Regiment AAC. These two regiments are the only two regiments within the British Army to fly and operate the Apache attack helicopter, as Wattisham is now the only operational base in the country for Apache.
